AN: Well, hello there! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for your massive amounts of support concerning this story already. Every review, alert, and favorite makes my heart flutter a little bit. Seriously--I've always said that I have the best readers...and I know it's true ;)

A few notes, first, though--yes, that first part was a prologue...we will get to it...eventually...but it takes a while to get there. Edward isn't 28, but you WILL find out how old he is in this chapter (it's alll EPOV). I am planning on updating once a week (on Thursdays, preferably), so...keep a look out for that! And last, if anyone has any concerns or questions, I will be creating a "The Longest Summer" thread in the very near future...I'll attach the link in my next AN!

Also, completely separately--I'm looking for a beta to help out with this story, if anyone's interested. I'm not 100% convinced that I'm going to use one, but if someone out there reading this has a great desire to take on another story to beta...let me know! PM me, leave a review, etc!

Lastly, I'm beta-ing for the lovely il-bel-mondo. Her story "A Silver Tongue" is absolutely hilarious...and after you finish reading (and leaving a review, right?), run over and catch up with her!!!

Okay, was that AN long enough for you? Haha--I promise they won't all be this long...I just love you all soooo much and am so glad to be taking this new adventure with you guys :)

***

~Edward~

"Jake, get the fuck off me," I groaned, trying to push my sorry excuse for a best friend off of my bed. He fell to the floor with a loud moan and a thud, putting a smile on my face.

"You jack ass, Edward! What the fuck?" Jake scrambled back onto the bed, attempting to climb on top of me again as I thrashed my legs in protest.

"Wow, you guys are gay," Emmett snickered, ruffling my hair, not helping me push Jake off at all.

"I just missed my best friend," Jake cooed batting his lashes over-exaggeratedly making kiss faces in my direction.

Emmett just rolled his eyes and picked up his car keys. "Gay," he muttered as Jake gave me a hand to pull me out of bed. "Okay, boys, I'm off to the airport. Try and be fully clothed when I return, please."

I stretched my sore limbs, which were pretty angry with me for traveling on a cramped Grey Hound bus for eight hours the night before. Come to think of it, I really needed to shower in the near future. Grime covered my body, making me shudder in disgust at myself. I was surprised that Jake could stand to lay on top of me with how gross I currently felt. But I had arrived at camp at 4 AM…and couldn't bring myself to hop into the shower before passing out in the familiar twin sized bed in the small, Star Wars poster covered room.

"Airport?" I asked sleepily, not completely awake yet…despite the fact that it was already three in the afternoon.

"Yeah, I'm on new counselor pick up duty, remember? And guess who's on my list today?" Suddenly, Jake looked like he was having a seizure, jumping all over the room, holding hands and dancing around Emmett looking all kinds of ridiculous.

"What?"

"LB and Alice get here today!" Jake squealed like a little girl.

Wait, what? "Bella?" I asked incredulously. This was the first I was hearing of this. Why wouldn't my best friends tell me that my favorite camper was coming back to work here? I suddenly felt like I was on the outside of a clique.

"Oh, someone brought out the 'B' word," Emmett laughed, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

I couldn't believe that she was old enough to be working with me. Bella as a co-worker? I wasn't sure how I felt about that quite yet. She was definitely my most promising camper. Not really an athlete, Bella spent most of her free time holed up in the video shack working on making short films, soaking up any experience and information I had to share with her. At the age of 15, Bella held more promise for her career as a director than I did at age 22, just graduated from RISD with a degree in Film and Animation. And, fuck if I wasn't the slightest bit jealous of that girl. She had vision and an uncanny ability for finding the most intriguing and original way of telling a story. I truly admired her, and I made sure she knew how much I respected her. I knew she looked up to me as somewhat of a role model, so I tried my hardest to fulfill the expectations she had for me. It was hard to live up to, especially when I knew her talent surpassed mine by light years.

Speaking of which…

"Hey, is LB my assistant?" I instantly perked up. Spending an entire summer with Bella as my assistant wouldn't be too bad. At least I knew she was talented, plus…she already knew the way I operated and my teaching styles.

"She wishes," Emmett winked before heading out of the bunk. "Later, bitches!" As the door slammed shut, Jake's face lit up with excitement again. If I didn't know about all the girls we were screwing, Jake and I would be seriously gay together.

"Nah," Jake laughed. "It's actually my cousin, Seth—remember, I was telling you about him?" I racked my brain, trying to place the name, but for the life of me I couldn't. "Just graduated from NYU film school? Come on, Edward…do you listen to anything I say?"

"Only when it has to do with who you're banging. Speaking of which, who's on your short list this summer?"

Jake sighed before grinning goofily. Such a slut.

"I think I'm going to wait until after tomorrow to solidify the list…you know, really check out the new goods. What about you? Emily again?"

I shook my head. Emily was easy, yes. We both wanted nothing out of our relationship except for a friend and someone to fool around with. But this would be year number three of our "relationship," and I was in the mood to mix it up a bit. I was sure Emily wouldn't care.

"Really? Good, cause as much as I love seeing a nerd like yourself get laid, the girl looks like she could be a camper," he scoffed. I elbowed Jake in the stomach, not even bothering with a verbal retort, before rifling through my still packed duffel for a clean shirt and a pair of shorts to throw on.

"Where are you running off to?"

"Shack." Jake rolled his eyes at me, obviously annoyed by my typical response. "If they're giving me a pain in the ass assistant to train, I should probably organize everything. Ugh, this is going to be pure torture. Don't they realize that I need my space? I have a fine tuned system…"

"Can you stop geeking out over your 'system,' asshole? I don't know why you're complaining," Jake lay back onto my empty bed, flicking on the 42" plasma TV we'd rented for the summer. We were ballers. What can I say?

"I'm complaining because I don't feel like having a shadow—just let me be." I balled up a t-shirt and threw it at his face. "Also, your bed is right there," I laughed, pointing at the twin bed mere feet away from the one he was currently stretched out on. "I know you've missed my scent, but…seriously…"

"Maybe if you hadn't told the directors that this was going to be your last summer, they wouldn't have given you an assistant. Did you ever think of that, genius?" Suddenly, Secretary popped up onto the screen, Maggie Gyllenhaal's fishnet clad legs distracting me momentarily.

"Fuck you. Some of us need to get real jobs and stop hiding out up here. And get the fuck out of my bed, asshole. If you jizz on my sheets, I will actually murder you."

As I trailed out of the bunk, I heard Jake's loud over-exaggerated moaning making me chuckle under my breath. Such an ass.

I trudged over the familiar green hills to the video shack, opening the combination lock without any hesitation. The door swung open, the familiar scent of stale air conditioner filling my nose. I almost laughed when I looked around. I had left the shack in complete disarray. DVDs spilled from the shelves, falling onto drawings, storyboards, and mini DV tapes. Man, I had really left my life up here at the end of last summer. Knowing that pre-camp was starting tomorrow, I decided to start cleaning everything up. God knows I didn't want some fucking assistant touching all of my stuff.

Ugh, assistant. Fucking Jake. That asshole was right. I probably wouldn't have to put up with an assistant if I hadn't informed my superiors that after six summers of being the only video counselor, I wouldn't be returning for a seventh. But, I really did need to get a real job. I loved working at Long Lake—it was my second home, and these boys were the only family I cared about. But I couldn't help but feel like I needed to give the real world a chance. I was twenty-five years old and had nothing to show for myself. When I graduated three years ago, I felt like I was on top of the world; I was going to be the next Martin Scorsese, the next Bob Iger, the next JJ Abrams…

Needless to say, my life hadn't worked out according to plan yet. And although working at the Brown bookstore and working weddings, bar mitzvahs, and sweet sixteens was enough to pay the bills…it wasn't what I signed up for. I decided that after this summer, I was finally going to move out of Providence, away from RISD (yeah, you know you're a sad, creepy fucker when you're 25 and still living in your college town). It was time to move on. Move forward. On to bigger and better things…after this summer, though.

I flicked through the DVDs I had stashed there and decided to put in Waking Life for some background noise to my cleaning. Nothing like some existential, pretentious animation to get you in the cleaning mood.

Time passed as I cleaned up every inch of the small room until my cell phone interrupted me. I flipped it open quickly, looking to see who needed me. A text from Emmett awaited me, naturally.

MJ's for dinner and drinks w/ some new counselors. We leave in 30.

I checked my watch and knew that I really needed a shower before I could head off of campus. Not only did I have the grime from hours trapped on the Grey Hound, but I was now covered in dust from head to toe. Cleaning + Edward? Not the best combination. But I definitely wanted to meet the new counselors. Maybe my next hook up would be among them. There was no way I was wasting the opportunity to get to know them before everyone else. I texted back quickly as I locked the shack back up behind me.

Need shower. Meet you there in an hour or so?

As I was walking back towards my bunk, I heard the unmistakably familiar sound of giggling. I cocked my head to the side a little bit, trying to listen into the conversation, but it was still pretty muffled. I paused momentarily, turning my head towards the source of the noise when we made eye contact. Her piercing blue eyes widened in shock before a huge grin spread across her face.

"Edward!" she squealed, running at me at full force. Within seconds, she was in my arms, her tiny frame perched on my hip.

"Alice…can't…breathe!" I gasped, placing the tiny girl back on the ground.

"Sorry." Her smile told me otherwise though, as it only got wider with each second we stood together staring at one another.

"So—"

"Alice, what the—" An unfamiliar blonde stepped out of the cabin, looking completely confused. Alice looked over her shoulder at the girl, whose expression of confusion suddenly changed to excitement and then suspicion. She waved tentatively before heading back into the cabin out of my eyesight. Weird. Hot…but definitely weird.

Alice whipped her head around to mine again, still smiling like a crazy person. I'll admit; it was contagious. I found myself smiling right back at her.

"So, where's your other half?" I asked, finally able to finish my sentence.

"Bella's in the shower. You coming out with us tonight?"

"Oh, wow. You're the new counselors Emmett was talking about?" I laughed. It just seemed too ridiculous. Guess I wasn't going to be finding my potential hookup tonight. Alice simply rolled her eyes and turned away from me, heading back towards her cabin.

"Don't keep her waiting too long," Alice called out, slamming the door behind her leaving a trail of high-pitched giggling in her wake.

I had no idea what she meant with that last statement, but I was too tired to really think about it quite yet. I arrived back at my empty bunk and threw off my clothes, hopping into the shower immediately. The cool water felt like heaven against my dirty skin, and I relished in the clean feeling and the smell of my camp shampoo. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, I realized that (like an idiot) I had forgotten to unpack my towel. Figuring there wasn't anyone in the bunk, I stepped out of the bathroom ready to head to my room when I ran into someone.

A young looking, blonde kid sat on the edge of Emmett's bed with the most shocked expression on his face. Which was when I realized that I was naked. Awesome.

"Oh, shit. Aw, hell. I'm sorry," he stuttered, throwing his arm up to cover his face.

"It's okay," I laughed, my modesty nowhere to be found, "Just give me a second."

With that, I threw on the things at the top of my suitcase, a pair of black jeans and my Arcade Fire band t-shirt. Not wanting to prolong the awkwardness, I headed back out of my room to introduce myself.

"Sorry about that—I'm Edward." I held out my hand, and he took it nervously, running his other hand through his shaggy hair.

"Jasper. And I'm sorry, too. I should have like…coughed or something…let you know I was here." He took in my ensemble. "You going somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm actually off to the local bar to meet up with the rest of our roommates and some new counselors. Want to come?" He seemed nice enough.

"Were you leaving right now? Or do you mind if I shower, too? I just spent the last three days driving all the way from Tennessee, and I could really use a shower."

"Not a problem. Just remember to bring in clothes with you…uh, or a towel," I laughed. He smiled in return, his bright blue eyes lighting up just like Alice's.

"Please—like I'd show you the goods for free." I clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked by me. I already liked this kid. I could tell.

Lying back on my bed, I turned the TV back on, seeing that Jake had only gotten about 30 minutes into the movie. I jotted off a quick text to Emmett letting him know that I'd be late before turning my attention back to the screen to watch James Spader muzzle Maggie Gyllenhaal. I was completely lost in my D/s fantasies when my phone vibrated on my stomach. I almost choked reading the message.

No prob. I'll enjoy getting LB and A wasted w/o u. Maybe if I get her drunk enough, LB will give up her 'no cock sucking' rule for the summer.

What the fuck? I assumed that Alice and Bella would probably be drinking, but putting LB and 'cock sucking' in the same sentence was enough to grab my attention. If Emmett thought he could take advantage of my girls like that, then he had another thing coming. And then I realized that he was Emmett…and it was probably all a fucking joke to him.

One can only hope. I texted. But just to make sure… I added, But seriously, if your dick goes anywhere near either of them, I will castrate you.

Emmett didn't respond again, so I just chocked up his text as a joke before returning to my movie. I was in the midst of watching an incredibly intense spanking scene when I heard a knock at the door. Jasper stood there awkwardly, clean and showered, peering over my shoulder in shock. I figured he probably hadn't seen Secretary almost 100 times, and I'm sure he now thought I was some sort of perverted sex freak.

"Ready to go?" I turned the television off suddenly, breaking Jasper out of his D/s induced trance.

"Uh…yeah…"

I led Jasper up to Jake's truck; he had left me his keys like a good best friend. Jasper faltered a few steps behind me before hopping into the cab. He looked too amused for my liking.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, chuckling under his breath. I looked at him expectantly before his face lit up with laughter again. "It's just that this is what you drive? Some pimped out pick up truck with silver flames running down the sides? No way this is your ride. You look like you should drive a dilapidated black Saab, not this. Whose car are we stealing?"

I frowned. Not only did he think I was a perverted sex freak…my new roommate thought I was an emo, pansy-ass sex freak. I was a bit pissed. "Well, it's not actually my ride, if that makes you feel any better. It's my best friend's. Unfortunately, my car had to stay down in Providence for the summer getting some parts replaced…and what makes you think I should drive a dilapidated, black Saab?"

Jasper burst out laughing at my expression. "Oh my God…you do drive a busted up Saab, don't you?" he wheezed in between large guffaws of laughter. I turned on the radio, trying to drown out his laughter only to have the laughter increase with the music choice. At least this time, I joined in the laughter, too. Only Jake. Blasting from the speakers came the loud refrain of The Four Seasons' "Oh What A Night." I groaned loudly before putting in my own CD stored in the glove compartment. I let the soft strains of "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison fill the car, getting me prepared for the night of mayhem that would surely ensue, when Jasper finally spoke up again.

"I love this song," he sighed dreamily, closing his eyes.

"It's a favorite of mine. My other friends here aren't really music people, so they don't get it."

"That's too bad. How can someone not be a 'music person'? That's like saying…I'm not a 'food person' or a 'sleep person.' We need it."

I stared at my new roommate for a second as he continued to enjoy the music. That fucker was right. "So, don't take this the wrong way, Jasper, but…I think I love you." He raised his eyebrow, cracking an eye open. I nodded my head toward the speakers, showing him my gratitude for his appreciation of my music choice. He gave a big smile before settling back down and listening to the music.

Driving through the familiar streets, Jasper told me all about his life story. He had just graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee and now had no idea what he was going to do. He always assumed that he'd move back to Vancouver (where the rest of his family resided) and get a job as a high school art teacher, but now he was having second thoughts. Working as the fine arts counselor this summer was somewhat of a trial run…just to see if he actually wanted to teach. He spoke with such a calm enthusiasm—I was captivated by every detail he was telling me. I also found out that we had the exact same tastes in movies and music.

"So you're the Star Wars fan?" Jasper laughed loudly in reference to the Queen Amidala posters that had been placed around the walls over the past five summers.

"It's my favorite movie of all time. George Lucas was revolutionary in his vision—planning the last half of the story before the first half? Genius. And the special effects were decades ahead of their time. He changed the way people watched movies and thought about science fiction. Plus Natalie Portman is like the hottest thing to ever walk this planet…or any other planet…" Wow, you really geeked out on that justification.

Jasper looked contemplative for a second before shaking his head. "Nope. Megan Fox."

I scoffed in disbelief. We may have shared similar tastes in movies and music, but at least we didn't have to worry about competing for the same girls. "What? No way. She's trashtastic…and way too obvious. Sure, she's got a hot body, but how much of it is real and how much is plastic?" I argued.

"It's the black hair, blue eyes. It gets me every time…"

"Really? Well, then. I definitely have someone for you to meet tonight." I felt weird even thinking it, but if Jasper wanted himself some dark hair and blue eyes…I knew the perfect girl. And I had a feeling that his casual charm would be just enough to mellow Alice out.

"Yeah," I laughed. "She's actually an ex-camper of mine. Her name is Alice. Remind me to introduce you, although, I have a feeling that you'll know her when you see her."

"Ex-camper?" I nodded. "She's 18, though, right?" I thought about it. I couldn't believe that I was seriously pimping Alice out…to my roommate. But, Jasper seemed like a cool enough guy, and he was only 22, so it wasn't that bad, right?

"Yeah, she's 18."

"So what about you?" Jasper asked curiously turning down the volume on the radio.

"I usually wait until after pre-camp to hook up with anyone. And honestly, I'm really lazy, so I usually just wait for someone to tell me that they're interested in me…and it's worked so far."

It was true. I was a lazy son of a bitch when it came to relationships. I didn't really have them, per se. I had three month long relationships that lasted for the summer, and then…in the real world, they faded away. I was kind of a loser when it came to girls, but I was good looking enough to get ass—and most of them found my geeky tendencies and foul language habit charming—so I wasn't complaining.

"So you're just going to let people scope you out tonight?" Jasper laughed. "Is that the plan?"

"Sure…I guess." We finally got to MJ's, and it was already hopping. As I parked the truck, I could see the throngs of drunk counselors mingling with the local Mainers. Ahh, yes. Now it feels like summer.

I ushered Jasper in first but was accosted by Jake not even two steps into the bar. "Edwarrrrddd!" he yelled.

"Jake, how are you already drunk? I'm only like an hour behind you!" As he hugged me, wrapping me in his massive embrace, I noticed another guy standing awkwardly off to the side.

"This is Seth!" He grabbed the awkward guy and shoved him towards me. "He's your assistant—and this is Edward." He turned back to the kid, who seemed to be trying to process everything all at once.

"Hey," I introduced myself, seeing as Jake was already incapacitated. "I'm Edward."

"Oh, man! You're Edward? I'm going to be working with you this summer…I'm Jake's cousin, Seth," he smiled widely like an overeager puppy. I wasn't sure how I felt about him yet.

"And this is Jasper, our other roommate." I pointed next to me at Jasper whose eyes had already started wandering around the bar. I could tell when he found Alice because his eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to fly across the room, all while standing there calmly. Our eyes made contact, and I just smiled and rolled my eyes. With that, he was off.

When I turned my attention back to Jake, he was blabbering on about something or other. I only started to pay attention at the tail end when I heard him say, "…and Seth is all about LB, so we've gotta help him out, okay, Edward? Cause, that girl grew up into a smoking hot piece of ass, if I do say so myself." Seth smirked as Jake slapped a hand on his shoulder before taking a long pull of the beer in his hand.

Um, I'm sorry…what? That kid with Bella? I do not think so, Jake.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered as I made my way towards Emmett at the bar. It was on my walk towards Emmett when I spotted her. And fuck if Jake hadn't sugar coated it. She looked practically sinful. I had the irrational desire to throw a coat over her exposed skin. How could she walk around a bar like that? With those sneakers! With drunk guys ogling her? And where the fuck was Emmett?

My eyes scanned the bar once more. Emmett was chatting up the blonde who was with Alice before, and Bella just stood there sucking down sip after sip of what I'm positive was an incredibly alcoholic drink. The big brother in me decided to intervene. I crept behind her before leaning in her ear.

"That better not be what I think it is," I whispered in her ear. She instantly tensed, recognizing my voice before spinning around.

Our eyes met, and I was completely taken aback. The last time I had spent time with Bella, she was beautiful—yes, she'd always been beautiful—but she'd truly grown into herself. She was going to be such a heartbreaker. Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she challenged me.

"Lemonade?" I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the drink from her hand and downed about half of it in one sip. And then, suddenly, we were us again. Our witty banter returned, putting me at ease for the first time since I'd stepped into the bar. Then, just as suddenly, she was walking away from me. I clasped my hand around her wrist asking her where she was going.

"To get another drink. Some geezer just stole half of mine." I couldn't help but smile and let her go. Confidence oozed from her every step as she returned to the bar next to Emmett, so I decided to let them have their fun for a while and explore in the meantime. We could catch up later.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alice and Jasper talking with one another, matching smiles gracing their faces. Not wanting to interrupt, I decided to head outside for some fresh air. The smoky air of the bar was feeling a little claustrophobic, and I could use a breather.

I sat down on the stone ledge, which led out to the dock, overlooking the other side of the lake from camp.

"No, darlin'…I don't see why you're making a big deal about this. We talked about it before I left," I frustrated voice floated through the air. Through the darkness, I could make out a crop of blonde hair sitting on the edge of the dock. "Seriously, you need to let this go and trust me…yeah, okay. I love you, too. Bye." I heard the click of a phone being shut and a distinct shuddering sigh, laced with the beginning of tears. The girl pushed herself into a standing position, and soon I was face to face with the unfamiliar blonde who had been hanging out with Alice before.

"Hey," I waved awkwardly. I felt like I was intruding on her phone call. Not that I meant to, but still. "Sorry, I just needed some air…"

"It's fine," she smiled, her face completely hiding any trace of sadness. "You're Edward, right?"

"I am. Although, I have no idea who you are." I ran a hand through my hair before holding it out for her to shake.

"Oh, God! I'm sorry—how rude of me. I'm Rosalie. I'll be working at swim. I'm new…obviously, but your friends have been incredibly accommodating. Except for Jake. That man is just too much," she laughed playing with the bottom of her long necklace.

"Sorry about listening into your phone call before, but…are you okay?"

"Yeah—just an overbearing boyfriend back home, you know? It'll work itself out, I'm sure."

"Well, how about I buy you a drink to make up for it?" I suggested. It was the least I could do. Poor thing looked like she was miserable out here anyway.

"Thanks, Edward. That's super sweet of you." I stood up and offered her my hand, which she took graciously as we walked back into the bar. What our eyes were met with…I was not prepared for.

On the bar stood a local townie, who had taken his dick out of his pants and was now swinging it around like a windmill…literally, in front of everyone. My eyes quickly found Emmett and Bella who were laughing so hard that they were nearly falling off of their bar stools.

"Oh God!" I cried, running up to Bella and covering her eyes. She didn't need to see some local guy's dick. In fact, in my mind…Bella had never seen a penis. Ever. And I wanted to keep it that way. Rosalie stood beside me in horror, so I decided to put a hand over her eyes, too, pulling her close to my side, until the guy was pulled from the bar by security and kicked out.

"Oh my God, did you see that?" Bella laughed, clutching at her stomach. "That was the smallest dick I've ever seen! Smaller than that kid you caught me giving a hand job to at senior social," she squealed to Emmett.

So much for my 'Bella's never seen peen' theory.

"Oh, man—I forgot about that! I dubbed him Teeny Peen…what was his real name? I can't remember…" Emmett laughed boisterously, his eyes looking glazed over with drunkenness. At that moment, the music changed, getting Bella excited all over again.

"I love this song! I'm going to dance…Rosalie, come on!" she yelled, pulling Rosalie onto the dance floor with her. The song was some heinous rap song about "getting down" and "hitting the floor," but Bella and Rosalie seemed to be enjoying themselves, moving closer to one another slowly.

Rosalie's hands gripped Bella's hips, pulling them into hers as they moved their hips to the bass heavy beat.

"That is the hottest thing I've ever seen." Emmett's eyes widened, staring at the place where Rosalie and Bella were joined. Their faces were mere inches apart, and I swear they were moments away from kissing when Emmett bound out of his seat to attach himself to the other side of Bella, swaying in rhythm behind her. I watched in awe, shock, and horror as Emmett's hands slid down Bella's thighs, trailing up and down the bare skin between the edge of her shorts and the tops of the knee high sneakers. With each stroke, his hands moved more freely, ghosting over the insides of her thighs, making Bella relax back into his chest.

I couldn't believe what I was watching. Emmett was coming onto Bella. Emmett who had claimed that she was like a little sister to him was now groping and heavily petting the little girl in front of me. Plus, he had gotten her wasted first. I never thought that Emmett would stoop so low. Just when I thought he had reached the ultimate low, his lips moved down and grazed the side of her neck. A small smile played on Bella's lips as she dipped down and ground her rear into Emmett rising back up to meet him. I could see his eyes rolling back into his head from here. Her head moved backwards, twisting to meet Emmett…and the world started slowing down. I could not let this happen. I just couldn't.

Feeling emboldened, I pulled Bella out of Emmett's grasp before their lips could meet and pulled her into my own body.

"Aw, you aren't hard like Emmett," she pouted as she ran her hand over my jean-covered crotch. I almost threw up in my own mouth. Emmett had let her feel his erection? No, wait…better question: Emmett had an erection because of Bella? I felt sick. I looked for the pervert who had started all of this, but Emmett was currently being held up by Rosalie—his hands just as wandering on her body as they had been on Bella's.

"Bella, you've had a lot to drink tonight. Are you ready to go home?" I pulled her chin up to make eye contact with me, but she was too drunk to focus on anything. Fucking Emmett. I will kill him…tomorrow. Now, get her home.

"I love when you call me Bella," she giggled. "No one here does…"

"Uh huh…" I appeased Bella with an answer as I rounded up Jake, Seth, and Jasper to help me with getting Emmett into the truck. I loaded everyone into the bed of the truck, resigning myself to return for Emmett's car tomorrow. Apparently, I was the only sober one. Bella's hand consistently wandered towards my crotch for the entire ride home, and I finally just let her keep it there, unable to stave her off while driving any longer.

I drove quickly, getting us back to camp in less than 10 minutes. Alice was the first one to hop out, stumbling slightly as she meandered back towards her cabin. Rosalie offered to help carry Bella, but Bella was adamant that she wasn't tired and that she and Emmett were going to stay up to talk. I hoped by "talk" she didn't mean "touch his dick" because I was going to take serious issue with that.

Luckily, Bella passed out in my arms not even half way to my bunk. I put her down lightly on my bed, not quite sure what to do now. I couldn't very well get into bed with her. Especially not when she was in groping mode. That would most likely end up badly. Instead, I trekked back to the shack and put in a movie. It had been an exhausting two days, though, and half way through The Royal Tennenbaums, I was out like a light.

I awoke the next morning with a pain in my neck, most likely from sleeping hunched over the computer desk. I checked my phone. 8:15…

Good. At least breakfast is still going on.

I made my way to the cafeteria, only to find a mostly dead Emmett chugging black coffee. I usually would have laughed, but I was too pissed off at him to really function yet.

"Hey, man…sorry about last night," he croaked. "I was just so excited to have my girls back, and you know how I get…"

"Where's LB anyway?"

"Still in bed. I let her sleep through breakfast, although she's probably going to need something to eat. Girl can't mix her booze very well," Emmett chuckled.

I was not amused. "You're an ass, Em. I'll bring her some food. I should go get changed anyway."

"Pre-camp starts at 9, Edward. Make sure she's not late…" I heard him call as I made my way back down to the bunk, grabbing a muffin as I went. I was pissed at Emmett…and my neck hurt like a bitch, but he was right—Bella would need something to eat before a long day of sexual harassment and discipline lectures.

Tentatively, I pushed open my bedroom door. Bella was sprawled out on her stomach, her face planted into my pillow, snoring lightly. I felt bad waking her, but…it had to be done.

"LB," I called, shaking her shoulder lightly. "LB wake up…" I rubbed my hand down her arm, hoping to pull her from her drunken slumber slowly. She cracked open her eye suddenly, still looking into my pillow.

"Edward?" Her voice was cracked and dry, and I immediately regretted not bringing her some juice as well. I did have a bottle of water in my backpack from yesterday, though. That would have to suffice.

"Emmett wanted to me to tell you that you slept through breakfast, and pre-camp starts in about 30 minutes," I let her know.

At that statement, her eyes flew open. Her breathing changed, becoming more labored…and I realized that she had never been in my bunk before, much less my room.

"Where am I?" She sat up slowly, swinging her feet around to meet the floor.

"My bed."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Where did you sleep last night?" I held out the bottle of water and muffin, which she began to pick at nervously.

"Not here," I answered tersely, remembering my aching muscles.

She cringed. "Oh…okay." A sudden flicker of recognition flashed through her eyes, panic evident in whatever she was remembering. "Oh my God…" Bella laid her head in her hands, shaking them slightly. "I'm so sorry about last night, Edward. I—"

I wasn't quite ready to go into it again with her quite yet, so I held up my hand to gesture for her to stop. "Let's just head up to pre-camp, okay? Finish your water…I'm going to put on some clean clothes. Do you need anything?" She looked at me, confused as she gulped down her water. "It'd be silly for you to go all the way back to your bunk and then come back up here for orientation…do you want to borrow something to wear?" I explained further.

"Sure," she answered quickly, throwing the empty bottle of water into the trashcan. "You don't mind?"

I shook my head, finally smiling at her Bella-like insecurities shining through. "Nope. What do you want?"

"I could really use a sweatshirt," she flushed looking down at her revealing ensemble. "And I know it's a stretch, but…if you had any girl sized shoes…that'd be awesome…"

"Actually, I do," I realized. "Emily left a pair here last summer, and I think I still have them in my closet." I opened the door to reveal a small pair of brown, leather flip-flops and threw them and my red hoodie over to Bella.

"Who's Emily?"

"Uhh…just a girl I was seeing last summer. She works at field hockey and lacrosse."

"Works?" Bella looked shocked. Oh, yeah. Shit. We've never talked about girls. This is probably weird. Although, after last night…I think all bets are off.

"Yeah…this will be her fourth summer here, actually…you probably remember her."

"Not really. Land sports aren't my thing…" she muttered putting on the rest of the clothing.

"Ready?" I offered her my arm like a gentleman. It was the least I could do. She was probably feeling like death warmed over. She nodded grimly before we headed up towards the auditorium. On the way, I tried to deduce how much she actually remembered from the previous night. "So, Bella…about Emmett…" I looked over at her nervously, not knowing what I would find in her facial expression.

What I found was sheer and utter terror. Her eyes widened, and as her face paled, I could see her gag reflex go into action. She scrambled to get to the nearest trashcan before heaving the entire bottle of water back up into it. I grabbed her hair, pulling it away from her face as she continued to empty the contents of her stomach.

"LB, are you okay?" I asked, trying not to laugh as she continued spitting, ridding her mouth of any of the recently regurgitated water.

"Go ahead and laugh, Edward. I nearly hooked up with Emmett and then just vommed into a trashcan just thinking about it. I think that warrants a laugh," she groaned, her arm coming around my waist as she leaned into my shoulder. "Thanks for saving me, by the way."

I laughed lightly, helping her walk towards the auditorium, hoping that the first day of pre-camp wouldn't be too stressful for her clearly hung over body. "LB, you are something else."

Chapter End Notes:

Chapter 3? Who wants it? Reviews are better than wearing Edward's hoodie and snuggling up with him all day.

And question of the day: What's your cocktail of choice...and what's your best hang over remedy?

See you next week!

xo,

Charlotte